Long time White House usher Ike Hoover; he began his tenure in 1891 when he was sent to the White House by the Edison Company to wire it for electric lights. President Harrison hired him; President Wilson made him Chief Usher. He saw it all and died, without writing his memoirs, in 1933, after 42 years of service.

I had no idea... but the file name of the pic gave it away :) We never learned too much about American history up here in Canada, but I've always found it interesting, and it's never too late to learn! Cheers :)

I'm just a history geek with a longer Christmas vacation than most. The file name IS a give away, but I do have a little more time on my hands than normal. I found his obituary in an old Time magazine. PrepGirl is on her way to school; I'm next up on Friday and BrownBear goes Monday.

I have that same feeling in my stomach as when my 11th grade math teacher, in a "writing across the curriculum" moment, gave us a pop quiz and asked who the schools in our district were named after and why. I had just come back from Germany (lived in Berlin for 4 years), and I had no idea who John Jay, Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Marshall, etc., were. Failed the quiz but learned about Supreme Court Justices!

OK. I'm better at art and architecture, however, I'm starting to think this may be a drawing of a young, middle-aged John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (rather than the older, toothless one!) but I shall still be researching.